The Fishbowl is Dead to Me

Well I did it, I broke the streak of Sunday Blog Posting that has been a plague of this blog.

Wednesdays are hard for me. I have class from 9am until 7pm and all of my weekly homework is due on Wednesday. This makes Tuesdays suck. Especially when I have to work. So like most Wednesdays, I woke up and realized that I didn't have my shit together. This morning I decided to take a break from class and do the homework I had neglected. At least I wouldn't be skipping class to watch TV right? This also meant I wouldn't have to go up to North Campus until the afternoon and I could do my work on central campus. I cant do work in my house, and I didn't want to walk all the way to Angell Hall so I got the idea to follow the advice of my beer pong table and go to the Stephen M. Ross Academic Center.

The moment I walked though those doors I kissed off the UGLi and Fishbowl for good. Not only is it 2 minutes away from my house, and 1 minute from my house next year, its gorgeous. I mean WOW, I would considering hanging out here on the weekends its so nice. Imagine the computer lab in the new CSE building, think that's cool right? WRONG. This is cool. The chairs are comfortable, the keyboards aren't covered in the mix of dandruff and feces like the Fishbowl ones, and there is enough space for me to have more that one pocket size dictionary on the table. No wonder the athletes are trying to keep this for themselves.

Also the people watching is awesome. And its fun to watch athletes trying to do work. When I came in some big guy looked up at me, as if to ask why I was in his study space. I just looked at him and said "ping pong" and kept walking. I still feel a little out of place but that's not going to deter me from coming back. This Stephen M. Ross guy knew what he was doing. I hope the new B-School is this cool.

It's more of a Shelbyville idea.

Every now and then I read something in The Daily about building a monorail between Central Campus and North Campus. Building a monorail is one of the more idiotic things I've ever read in the Daily. Not only would it be less efficient than the current bus system, it would also be more expensive and downright infeasible. Here's why.

1) A monorail would only have a few select stops, probably just at CC Little, and Pierpont Commons. Maybe one more on the hill. This mean that students would still have to take a bus to get to the monorail.

2) You still have to wait for a monorail. Any monorail would be 1 straight track and not a loop for obvious reasons (costs). Therefore the monorail would get to CC Little and reverse direction, meaning only one car can be on the track at a time (or else they would hit each other). So the monorail would only come by every 5 minutes or so which is the same frequency as the Bursley-Baits buses arrive.

3) You would still need a fleet of buses. Nurses who park at Mitchell Field and Glazier Way still have to get to work. People who live in Baits or not near a monorail stop would still have to take a bus to get to the monorail, and then another bus to get from the monorail to their destination.

4) Monorails can't go through buildings. There is a hospital and about 5 dorms in between CC Little and Pierpont Commons, and I wouldn't want to live in a room with a train flying by my window every 5 minutes.

5) Monorails have to be level. In between North and Central Campuses is a Huron Valley. The track would have to be a few hundred feet in the air above Fuller road.

6) Monorails are expensive compared to buses. They are expensive to build and maintain and unless students would be willing to pay to ride a monorail I would doubt the University would ever build one.

7) Monorails need a maintenance building that would have to be built somewhere.

8) Monorails are an eyesore and would look horrible in Ann Arbor.

9) A monorail would have to support people with disabilities. Wheelchair passengers would probably have a hard time using the system.

10) Monorails have no way to evacuate in case of emergency. If there was a malfunction there would be no way to evacuate people from a monorail 300 feet above fuller road.

11) The bus driver union would be pissed if you tried to cut jobs.

12) Monorails can get just as crowded as buses.

The current bus system works well and while crowded gets people where they would like to go in an expedient manner. A monorail wouldn't be the elixir to the transportation problem at the University, and would most likely be a failed proposition.

Lazy sunday

Usually when I am bored at my computer I check my email, read Google news, check for new quotes on bash, look at peoples away messages and go to Craigslist. I love Craigslist because it is so unintentionally funny. I usually like the Missed Connections in Ann Arbor because they comprise some of the saddest things you will ever read. I also look at the free stuff and check out to see if anyone is selling a Boflex or a horse (more on these later). I am also a big fan of the best of Craigslist in which I found this gem.

Let us frolic in my totally dope blanket fort

Reminds me of an old Every Three Weekly Article, just great.

Spring Break 2007 Whoo Hoo!

Myself, Mark Ausborn, Dave Xia, Peter Mattes and Ross embarked on an epic adventure. Our mission, to go on The Price is Right. Because we couldn't find a reason not to, we decided that driving would be the best mode of transportation. We sent in for tickets talked to friends that we could stay with along the way and got ready for what could perhaps be the greatest trip of our lives. We were planning on copious amounts of shenanigans and great stories and maybe even some blogable memories. Because describing the entire trip is an exercise in futility here are some lists.

States Stated (in order)
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois
Iowa
Missouri
Kansas
Oklahoma
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
Nevada
California
Nevada
Arizona
Utah
Colorado
Nebraska
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan

Total: 15

Sights Seen (in order)
Mississippi River
The Lions Den (Iowa)
Worlds Largest Truck Stop (Iowa)
Drake University (Iowa)
Worlds Largest Hand Dug Well (Kansas)
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
Hoover Dam (AZ, NV)
The Strip (Vegas)
The Price Is Right (LA)
Venice Beach (LA)
Worlds Largest Thermometer (Nevada)
Snowmass (Colorado)
Iowa University (Iowa Duh!)

Eatery's Eaten (in order)
Checkers (MI)
Champps (IA)
Chick-Fil-A (IA)
McDonald's (Kansas)
Denny's (AZ)
Gonzales (in New York, New York, Las Vegas, Nevada)
In-N-Out (NV)
Quiznos (LA)
Bagel Joint (LA)
Pizza Place (LA)
In-N-Out (LA)
Pinks Hot Dog Stand (LA)
In-N-Out (Barstow CA)
Sonic (Utah)
Peanut Butter and Jelly (Snowmass)
Homemade Spaghetti (Aspen)
Scrambled Eggs (Aspen)
Village Inn, For the Pie (Nebraska)
Sonic, For Desert from pie (Nebraska)
Taco Bell (Iowa)
HyVee Sandwiches (Iowa)
KFC (Illinois)

Tickets Ticked (In Order)
Kansas - Dave going 75 in a 65 (Got a warning)
Hooker, Oklahoma - Me, 47 in a 35 (60$)
Iowa - Me, 83 in a 70 (102$) Mark hung me out to dry.

Miles Miled
6,000

Hours Spent in Vehicles
85

I wish I could go into more details about how amazing driving across the country with your friends is, but I really cant. Some of the stories I've acquired will long outlast my undergraduate career. Singing Hail To the Victors in an Iowa Univ Bar, 4 people drinking 4 fifths on the roof of a hotel in West Hollywood, or someone pissing themselves in a chair will stick with me till the end of my days. I wish you could have come. It was great.

PS our episode of TPIR is going to be aired on March 29th. Watch it you might see us.